Can ballpoint pen marks be safely removed from old black-and-white photo prints?
Asked 7/23/2012
3 views
2 answers
0
I need to scan and restore several old black-and-white prints, mostly from the 1930s to 1960s. Some of the original prints have been marked with ballpoint pen. Is there any safe way to remove the ink from the physical prints without damaging them, or is it better to leave the originals alone and fix the marks after scanning?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
4
If restoration of the original prior to scanning is the aim, that's a tough one. There are a couple of complications that make this more difficult with photographs than it would be with ordinary documents or paintings in common media (watercolour, oils or acrylics).
There are essentially two ways to remove the ink: using a weak solvent in combination with local suction (think a vacuum cleaner the size of an airbrush nozzle) or non-abrasive absorption (usually some variation on the Q-Tip theme made from skewers or toothpicks and cotton wool, rolled or dabbed rather than swiped); and selective laser evaporation. The second is probably beyond your means as an individual, although you may be able to hook up with a university lab or a major art/document conservation shop.
The first complication is that the ink is not nearly as easy to remove after it has cured (oxidized); ink that is relatively fresh responds well to solvents (you merely need to dissolve the binder), but fully-cured inks will have polymerized and need to have the chemical bonds weakened and broken. That means more solvent action, which brings us to complication number two: there is a strong likelihood that some, even most, of the prints were done on resin-coated papers. If everything below the ink is water-soluble or hydrophilic (the emulsion, the paper sizing, etc.), then selectively dissolving the ink is tedious, but relatively easy work, even if the solvent penetrates the emulsion. If the paper is resin-coated, you need to be very, very careful to lift only the ink and avoid delaminating the paper and emulsion while the coating is soft.
The work is delicate and would require testing, and would probably amount to tens of hours per print. Unless the original prints are of historical significance (say they were printed by Ansel Adams or Edward Weston or somebody of that stature), I would leave them in their current condition and attack the restoration problem only at the reproduction stage. Scanning in full colour will help considerably to identify and remove not only the ink, but other environmental damage. Scanning with different settings (assuming your scanner/software supports it) can help to isolate known damage, automating its removal somewhat (though you'd still need to fill in the blanks).
I would seriously suggest reading Ctein's Digital Restoration from Start to Finish for a thorough overview of the subject. There are very few real shortcuts, I'm afraid, but there are a lot of things that can make the job easier than it might otherwise be.
Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2719
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Usually, don’t try to remove ballpoint ink from the original print yourself. Old photographic prints are much more fragile than ordinary paper, and ink removal often requires conservation methods such as controlled solvents with local suction or other specialist treatments. Done incorrectly, this can easily damage the print surface or image layer.
For most people, the safest approach is:
- scan the print as-is at high resolution,
- restore the pen marks digitally,
- leave the original untouched.
If the print is especially valuable, historically important, or badly marked, consult a professional photo or paper conservator rather than experimenting at home.
In short: physical removal may be possible in specialist conservation settings, but it is not generally a safe DIY process. Digital retouching after scanning is the recommended option.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI14y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
How can I remove pen scribbles from a scanned black-and-white photo using free software?
How can I digitize hundreds of small, damaged old prints more quickly?
What settings and workflow are best for scanning 10×15 cm printed photos for backup?
How should I scan old faded photos to preserve them with minimal quality loss?
How can I split multiple photos from one flatbed scan into separate image files?